King Henry School Year 8 Spring 1: Computer and Video Gaming Music Theory Computer/console/video gaming music composers Treble Clef Erith Koji Kondo - Super Mario Bros & The Legend of Zelda Michael Giacchino - The Lost World: Jurassic Park, Medal of Honour & Call of Duty Daniel Rosenfield - Minecraft Rom Di Prisco - Fortnite Winifred Phillips – Assassins Creed, Little Big Planet, God of War,

Early video game music consisted primarily of SOUND EFFECTS (an artificially created or enhanced sound used to emphasize certain actions within computer and video games). Music within a computer or video game is often used for CUES (knowing when a significant event was about to Bass Clef occur). Video game music is often heard over a game’s title screen (called the GROUND THEME), options menu and bonus content as well as during the entire gameplay. Music can be used to INCREASE TENSION AND SUSPENSE e.g. during battles and chases, when the player must make a decision within the game (a DECISION MOTIF) and can change, depending on a player’s actions or situation e.g. indicating missing actions or “pick-ups”. The structure of the Major scale Music can be used as cues to highlight different points in the game for example a change in worlds and homelands like in Spyro or a change in circumstance for example when a player gets a power up in Crash Team Racing. R – T – T – S – T – T – T – S

R=Root(whichever note we start from). T=Tone. (2 Steps) S=Semitone. (1 step)

Circle of 5ths

Character Themes in Computer and Video Game Music

Characters in video games have their own Character Motifs which act like Leitmotifs within film music. These can be extended and varied using the elements of music to show how a character has been affected by a situation, place and that character’s interaction with its surroundings and other characters.